THE PERFECT CUBIT - MASONIC LEGEND OR FABLE

by Lloyd U. Jefferson, P.G.M.

DEDICATED

To the loving memory of Reverend and Brother John
Henry Powers in his earlier years a stone mason by trade, he founded the Powers
Memorial Baptist Church, served with distinction on the Virginia State Baptist
Mission Board, member of Old Town Lodge No. 68, A.F. & A.M., Galax, Virginia,
Masonic Scholar and Master Teacher, Exemplary Mason and Cherished Friend.

1870-1961

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

With a grateful heart, I profoundly thank the
following for their wise counsel, help, and assistance:

Mrs. Marie M. Barnett, Librarian Grand Lodge of
Virginia

Col. Catlin E. Tyler, Librarian Richmond Scottish
Rite Bodies

Wor. James A. Brewer Deputy Grand Secretary Grand
Lodge of Virginia

Right Worshipful E. Milton Skelton, P.D.D.G.M.

Mt. Wor. A. Douglas Smith, Jr. Past Grand Master

Jerry Marsengill, Editor, The Philalethes Society

Mrs. Inge Baum Supreme Council Library, A. & A. S.
R., Southern

Jurisdiction

Mrs. Gwen Keran, Secretary Grand Lodge of Virginia Staff

Masonry, the more it is examined, the more
beautiful it becomes. This paper which I have prepared, howsoever
imperfect, is an attempt to explore the origin of the perfect cubit. It is
my prayer that it may induce others having more extensive means of information
and time for elaborate research, to accept the challenge.

Admittedly, the existence of a “Perfect Cubit” has
neither historical authority nor logical possibility to support it. It was
first implanted in my mind by Reverend and Brother John Henry Powers, my wife’s
grandfather, for whom I had the greatest respect and admiration in all the years
I had the privilege of sharing his friendship and Masonic knowledge. This
paper is dedicated to his loving memory, to his intelligence, and his profound
influence on my life. He truly exemplified the greatest teachings of
Freemasonry. While I come from a Masonic family, including my father,
father-in-law, a number of uncles and other relatives, I suppose Reverend Powers
was the one singular person who most influenced by decision to petition
Freemasonry. Then, in 1946 following by being raised to the Sublime Degree
of Master Mason, our warm relationship blossomed and grew with each passing
year. I treasure the countless evenings I spent with him in his study, as
he discussed with me the origins and ageless teachings of Freemasonry. He
was a Masonic scholar, possessing the keen mind of a Master Teacher. Born
in 1870, he was one of the great evangelistic Baptist preachers who rode
horse-back over the dirt roads of Kentucky and Virginia, preaching the Gospel.
This man of God was a member of Old Town Lodge No. 68, at Galax, Virginia, and
when I became a Mason he was seventy-six years of age.

During one of our many sessions together, he
expounded on the building of King Solomon’s Temple. It was his belief,
which I share, that the origin of Masonry took place at the building of
Solomon’s Temple, and that King Solomon was the first Grand Master, and Hiram of
Tyre and Hiram Abif were his Wardens.

Dr. James Anderson accepts this legend in the
second edition of his “Constitutions” when he says that King Solomon was Grand
Master of all Masons at Jerusalem; Hiram, King of Tyre, was Grand Master at
Tyre, and Hiram Abif, in Solomon’s absence, filled the chair as Deputy Grand
Master, and, in his presence was Senior Grand Warden.[1]

Moreover, Reverend George Oliver in “Antiquities of
Freemasonry” said these periods occupy a space of three thousand years; and I
have selected them for illustration, because it is generally believed that
Masonry took its rise at the building of King Solomon’s Temple.[2]

Reverend Powers spoke of Solomon’s recruiting over
one hundred and fifty thousand stone Masons, hewers of timber, artificers of
previous metals, laborers and overseers from all over the land, many speaking in
strange tongues, making communication difficult. Chapter Two, Second Book
of Chronicles relates how “Solomon numbered all the strangers who were in the
land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David, his father, had numbered
them; and they were found one hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and
six hundred. And he set three score and ten thousand of them to be bearers
of burdens and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three
thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people to work.[3]

Grandfather Powers reflected on the monumental task
that was Solomon’s to meld such a huge body of workmen, sorting out their
various talents and abilities, and organizing them into an effective and
harmonious work force to commence building the temple.

Yet, perhaps Solomon’s greatest problem, Reverend
Powers suggested, was the lack of a uniform measure of length by which the
stones, timbers and other materials could be joined with accuracy. He spoke of
the cubit, which was used as a measure of length by the Hebrews, Egyptians, and
Babylonians, being the distance from the elbow to the extremity of the middle
finger or approximately eighteen inches. Understandably, the cubit would
vary by the physical size of the workman or overseer, and thus, precluding the
use of an exact measure, World Book Encyclopedia states that generally the cubit
was the length of a man’s forearm from his elbow to the tip of his middle
finger. The cubit of the Ancient Egyptians was about 21 inches long.
That of the Ancient Romans was 17.5 inches. The Jewish cubit was 22
inches.[4]

Coil in his Masonic Encyclopedia says the cubit was
a measure used by the Hebrews, the exact length of which has been the subject of
much uncertainty and dispute. The majority opinion is that it is the
length of the forearm and hand from the elbow to the extremity of the middle
finger or approximately 18 inches. The Egyptian common cubit was 17.72
inches; the Egyptian Royal cubit was 20.67 inches; and the Roman Attic cubit was
17.57 inches.[5]

Marsengill, Editor (The Philalethes Society) said,
“According to Bishop Cumberland, the Hebrew cubit was 21 inches but according to
all other authorities it was approximately 18 inches. Two kinds of cubits were
known: the Sacred (36 inches) and the Profane (18 inches). The
measurements given in the Bible about Solomon’s Temple are all based on the
Profane or common cubit.[6]

Mackey’s Revised Encyclopedia refers to Hasints
Dictionary of the Bible (page 967), “We have at present no means of ascertaining
the exact dimensions of the Hebrews’ ordinary and Royal cubits. The
balance of evidence is certainly in favor of a fairly close approximation to the
Egyptian system.[7]

The Maryland Master Mason Handbook declares that it
is of great interest that archaeological research has revealed that in Solomon’s
day there were three different cubits; a Land cubit which was used for plotting
the layout of the Temple’s courts and the surrounding terrace, which had a
length of about 17.6 inches; a Building cubit used in the erection of buildings
was about 14.4 inches; and a Gold cubit used in the construction of the gold and
silver vessels and decorative work which was equal to about 10.8 inches.
All these three are found to be multiples of the basic palm breadth of 3.6
inches which was used by the Babylonians and also the Hebrews.[8]

Amid all of this confusion about a unit of measure,
especially finding one which was uniform and dependable, Reverend Powers said
the ancient workmen of the Temple fashioned a rope of human hair which was
knotted at three, five, and seven cubits. The human hair was chosen
because it was unaffected by heat or cold, and thus maintained a constant
length. He called this, “The Perfect Cubit,” which enabled the workmen to
join the stones, timbers and other materials with accuracy.

In Oliver’s Antiquities he said “. . . The
structure thus begun, according to a plan given to Solomon by David, his father,
upon the Ark of Alliance, every energy was used to render it a perfect specimen
of art. Every stone, every piece of timber, was carved, marked, and
numbered in the quarry and the forest; and nothing remained for the workmen at
Jerusalem but to join the materials with precision, on a reference to the marks
and numbers. This was affected without the use of either axe, hammer, or
metal tool; so that nothing was heard at Zion, save harmony and peace.[9]
It is a real testimonial to the Ancient Craftsmen that the parts could be so
shaped at great distance and fit as they were intended. Grandfather Powers
contended that this was due in part to the use of the Perfect Cubit.

I have reflected many times upon the significance
of the three knots in the Perfect Cubit . . . three, five, and seven. Mackey in
his History (Volume I) referred to the symbolic character of those sacred
numbers in the teaching of our Ancient Art and Science . . . three, five, and
seven. In the same spirit of symbolic reference the steps of the winding
stairs leading to the middle chamber were divided into a series of three, five,
and seven.[10]

I said at the onset of this paper that the
existence of a “Perfect Cubit” has no historical authority. None surfaced
during my research. Again, Mackey in Volume One (p. 9) states for a
faithful and thorough inquiry of the history of Freemasonry, carefully separate
the two periods into which it may be naturally divided, The Historic, and The
Prehistoric.

The Historic is the period within which we have
genuine documents in reference to the existence of the order. The Prehistoric is
the period within which we have no such records and where we have to depend
wholly upon legends and traditions.[11]

In the preface to Mackey’s History (Page VII)
Robert Ingham Clegg reflected that Brother Mackey . . . pointing out that the
very age of the Masonic institution had tended to confuse mere traditions or
legends with the authentic truths of history and he welcomed light from all
directions but carefully applied critical standards to the source and standing
of the information that came his way. By no means was he ready to reject a
Masonic Legend as fable.[12]

So I leave it up to the Masonic scholars and
prominent historians, imminently more qualified than I, to determine whether
“The Perfect Cubit” is a Masonic legend or fable.

Now, from Second Corinthians . . . “Finally,
brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live
in peace; and the God of Love and peace shall be with you.[13]